DHAKA: At least 113 people have been killed after an Indonesian air force C-130 plane crashed in a residential neighborhood in the city of Medan on the northern island of Sumatra.

According to military officials, the plane came down on Tuesday hitting empty residential buildings after bursting into flames shortly after take off.

There were 12 crew members and 101 passengers on board the plane, reports the Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker said the dead included civilian relatives of military personnel.

The Indonesian military has now opened an official investigation to try and figure out what went wrong.

Speaking shortly after the crash, Mardiaz Dwihananto, police chief of Medan city, said several bodies had been recovered from the wreckage.

Local radio station, El Shinta, said earlier that the aircraft had hit homes, but it was not immediately clear if anyone inside had been killed or injured.

Military spokesman, Fuad Basya, said the plane took off at around midday local time from an air force base carrying military equipment and crashed in the city about two minutes later, about 5km from the base.

BDST: 1749 HRS, JUNE 30, 2015
BD/

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